Marathon Pundit: New, sneaky development in card check battle

For several years, organized labor has been pushing the Employee Free Choice Act, which if made law will take away workers' rights to choose union representation with a secret ballot election and replace it with petition signatures.

Regular Marathon Pundit readers know that it's generally known as card check.

Labor's party, the Democrats, were able to get card check passed in the House two years, but it went nowhere in the Senate. President Bush would've vetoed it anyway.

However, Barack Obama supports card check, but it's doubtful the Dems can muster the necessary 60 votes to get the EFCA bill on his desk.

According to the Washington Times' Amanda Carpenter, a compromise may be in the works. Starbucks, Costco, and Whole Foods are behind it.

Three major retail companies with a reputation for generous dealings with their employees and very little union involvement are floating compromise legislation that would make it easier for organized labor to unionize but preserve a workers' ability to decide using a secret ballot vote.

Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz, according to Center for Responsive Politics, has given over $27,000 to Democratic candidates in the last five years. Jim Sinegal, the top man at Costco has been more generous to the blue party, he donated over $300,000 during the same period.

More from Carpenter:

Randel Johnson, vice president of labor issues for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which has opposed card check legislation, said: "There are hundreds of thousands of employers who are concerned about the bill and the fact three employers came up with an alternative isn't all that surprising, although it does mix up the debate a bit."

Brad Close, vice president of federal policy the National Federation of Independent Business, also was skeptical of the three companies' motives, saying this plan could be a way for large corporations to eliminate their competition in the market.

"Starbucks and Whole Foods are trying to crush the other businesses by making it easier for workers to organize them. This gives them a competitive advantage, he said. In addition, Wal-Mart is one of Costco's biggest competitors and has been adamantly against the "card-check" bill.

Besides keeping secret ballots, the proposal, if enacted, would give unions access to workplace sites to promote worker organization.

Despite Starbucks' leftiness--amongst management and its employees--the coffee king, which opposes card check, has fought unionization efforts at its stores. The International Workers of the World, better known as the Wobblies, has been mostly scalded in its efforts to organize Starbucks baristas.

A Chicago barista who's a Wob claims he was laid off last week after he confronted Starbucks' Dem-loving CEO about his "animosity" against unions.

A multi-front war is being fought. A sneaky one.

Technorati tags: